The purpose of a new study published in Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice was to ascertain the effect of yoga on respiratory functions, symptom control and the quality of lifeof asthma patients.

This randomized controlled trial selected 112 asthma patients—56 for the experimental group and an equal numberfor the control group. Patients in the experimental group received 12 yoga sessions, 2 sessions a week for 6 weekswhile the control group did not receive any intervention.

The difference in scores were found to be statistically significant in the intragroup comparison of the average pre-test and post-test, relating the respiratory function and Asthma Control Test (ACT) and Asthma Quality of Life Scale (AQLQ) total, and the sub-dimension scores of the patients in the experimental and control groups. Furthermore, post-test score averages were found to increase in the experimental group, while they were found to decrease in the control group.

From the results, it was inferred that yoga positively influenced respiratory functions, symptom control and the quality of life in asthma patients.